Fluid Bikes
- Thread starter procxi
- Start date
Hi guys,
Thanks heaps for all the responses !!! I did more research on my end and also took your input on this...
All and all I still feel Fuilds aren't so bad, at least for my purposes... And the Fluids I talk about are "NOT" the low end bikes... Specially with up to 50% discounts if you pick the right week to buy the bike. For the past few months they had several discounts like this.
Saying this, I'm going to take your responses in to consideration and do a bit of look around for the other brands. I get what most of you are trying to point out here !!! Maybe I might end up with a better known brand.
If you got more input to this please free drop in a few words... I'll keep a close eye on this thread
Cheers !!!
Thanks heaps for all the responses !!! I did more research on my end and also took your input on this...
All and all I still feel Fuilds aren't so bad, at least for my purposes... And the Fluids I talk about are "NOT" the low end bikes... Specially with up to 50% discounts if you pick the right week to buy the bike. For the past few months they had several discounts like this.
Saying this, I'm going to take your responses in to consideration and do a bit of look around for the other brands. I get what most of you are trying to point out here !!! Maybe I might end up with a better known brand.
If you got more input to this please free drop in a few words... I'll keep a close eye on this thread
Cheers !!!
I tried really hard to push my money when i first got into mtbing. Ended up with a new 09 Merida Matts 40 bought in 2010 for around 450-500. It had Suntour XCT V2 (pretty much rock bottom branded fork), 8x3sp alivio shifters and deraillurs, V brakes and china branded rims. I think I got an ok deal on it. From what i've seen browsing LBS, these days for the ~500-600 bracket I expect to have around the same drive train maybe 9x3sp, a slightly better fork, proper branded rims and mechanical disk brakes. I'd consider this a good deal. I think this is fine for single track if your just starting off. If you really get into the sport you can always upgrade or invest in a new mid-high end bike one you know exactly what you want out of the bike.
knob scortcher
Likes Dirt
my mate started mtbing on a fluid rhythm hardtail and xt mechs, deore hydro brakes decent rims (wtb somthings???) and some ok crank set. there good start out bikes if ur getting into mtbing. i tried to give his ago one day and i didnt like it coming off a higher spec bike. and if u have the money to upgrade later to a better branded bike then a fluid would be ok for general use. probly now dh tho.
wombat
Lives in a hole
I just had a look at the 'Momentum' and 'Method' models on the Fluid website, and to be honest, they're pretty shocking value at their normal price. Obviously when they're half price it might be another matter, but their $600 looks like it runs a screw-on hub and a rubbish steel crown fork. The likes of Merida, Giant and plenty of others will offer much better value at that price, and hopefully give you a frame with reasonably well setup geo. Not sure how the fluids are setup, they don't seem to display geo on their site.
Any input on Fluid Ricochet, Renedade and Rhythm based on their specs? I think ricochet might not be listed in the site. Are they worth the money if they go close to 30%-50% off?
http://www.anaconda.com.au/Product-Listing/Bikes-and-Accessories/Bikes/Mens
Thanks,
Update
Hi,
I know the thread is a little old... However, I thought I'll just update the thread with the final decision I made and my experience with Fluids hoping it will come in handy for someone who is looking for similar info in the future. Okay, I'll start by saying it's not going to please most of you who are serious about MTBs
With cost being a major factor in the decision, I finally went with Fluids when they were 50-40% off the normal retail price... in fact I bought 2 of those, one for my wife. Now, after a about 1 month of use this is my impression -
I agree when most of you said that Fluids aren't for serious MTBiking. My wife's Method model isn't satisfactory... she does not do any style of MTBiking, just on pave roads and occasional trailing.. and this is all in Sydney suburbs so you get the idea - nothing hardcore at all. A few times the chain came off although it wasn't hard to fix it then and there, the gear change can be funny at times and the ride isn't the most comfortable. So, yea Method model by no means a proper MTB. I could just imaging all sorts of problems she would come across if she take this bike to a proper trail for a ride.
The Momentum which I ride is slightly a different story. For the above purposes Momentum does a good job. I never had issues with the chain or the gears although the ride can be little more comfortable. And mind you I try more things with my bike than what she would try with her bike. When we exchange the bikes we both agree that momentum is little more sturdy and handling is better. Of course the Momentum is a little expensive and got better gear. However, is Momentum up for any hardcore trailing... well, I'm not so sure about it.
Now, do both of those bike serve our purpose? YES, it does. for us its about getting a little fresh air, exercise and enjoying the surroundings. Every now and then I try something little funky and the Momentum is up for it and haven't had any issues so far.
The point is I guess if you buy cheaper models of Fluids then of course you are going to experience lots of negatives. As you go up the models and pay more you get decent bikes. Specially with frequent sales you can get a decent bike 50-40% off the normal retail price. If you go to Anaconda website it kind of describes what each bike is suitable for and that's a good start if you are interested in a Fluid. Now, do I recommend Fluids for hardcore trailing in general? Maybe, but only the highend models like Rhythm or perhaps Renegade. I would personally keep away from any cheap models and that makes all the deference when you talk about or making a recommendation for Fluids. End of the day you get what you pay for. If I ever buy my second MTB, I would definitely consider a different brand unless I go for something like Fluid Rhythm.
Hope this will help in anyone's decision buying a Fluid. Good luck.
Cheers!!
Hi,
I know the thread is a little old... However, I thought I'll just update the thread with the final decision I made and my experience with Fluids hoping it will come in handy for someone who is looking for similar info in the future. Okay, I'll start by saying it's not going to please most of you who are serious about MTBs
With cost being a major factor in the decision, I finally went with Fluids when they were 50-40% off the normal retail price... in fact I bought 2 of those, one for my wife. Now, after a about 1 month of use this is my impression -
I agree when most of you said that Fluids aren't for serious MTBiking. My wife's Method model isn't satisfactory... she does not do any style of MTBiking, just on pave roads and occasional trailing.. and this is all in Sydney suburbs so you get the idea - nothing hardcore at all. A few times the chain came off although it wasn't hard to fix it then and there, the gear change can be funny at times and the ride isn't the most comfortable. So, yea Method model by no means a proper MTB. I could just imaging all sorts of problems she would come across if she take this bike to a proper trail for a ride.
The Momentum which I ride is slightly a different story. For the above purposes Momentum does a good job. I never had issues with the chain or the gears although the ride can be little more comfortable. And mind you I try more things with my bike than what she would try with her bike. When we exchange the bikes we both agree that momentum is little more sturdy and handling is better. Of course the Momentum is a little expensive and got better gear. However, is Momentum up for any hardcore trailing... well, I'm not so sure about it.
Now, do both of those bike serve our purpose? YES, it does. for us its about getting a little fresh air, exercise and enjoying the surroundings. Every now and then I try something little funky and the Momentum is up for it and haven't had any issues so far.
The point is I guess if you buy cheaper models of Fluids then of course you are going to experience lots of negatives. As you go up the models and pay more you get decent bikes. Specially with frequent sales you can get a decent bike 50-40% off the normal retail price. If you go to Anaconda website it kind of describes what each bike is suitable for and that's a good start if you are interested in a Fluid. Now, do I recommend Fluids for hardcore trailing in general? Maybe, but only the highend models like Rhythm or perhaps Renegade. I would personally keep away from any cheap models and that makes all the deference when you talk about or making a recommendation for Fluids. End of the day you get what you pay for. If I ever buy my second MTB, I would definitely consider a different brand unless I go for something like Fluid Rhythm.
Hope this will help in anyone's decision buying a Fluid.
Good luck.Cheers!!
Last edited:
hach_bee
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Quick question: how long have you had the bikes, and have you had the first free service yet? A couple of the issues you've mentioned with your wife's bike can be caused by cable stretch, being new cables use will stretch them out to start with. Would recommend getting a brake/gear tune up and you might find these problems disappear. There's not many other reasons for a chain to fall off unless your tuning is out...
What do you mean by the ride not being so comfortable also? Seat wise, or the size of the frame (being female, just curious)
stinky1138
Likes Dirt
We have 3 Fluids, a Nitro, Chaos, and Tantrum. The last two are the more 4x/DJ style, the Nitro is a XC/AM or something, i don't really know the definitions very well.
We knew a guy who worked for Anaconda and trusted his opinion, he said the Nitro was good for what it is and it's price. It has served it's purposed very well for 3.5 years, the only problems being pebcak style errors with brake pad contamination. It's an 07 and the newer models seem to have gone down in quality. I'm not very abusive on it, so never had any issues. For the time spent and types of trails i ride, it's not worth getting something "better". It'll never be less than what I need it to be/do.
The Chaos was purchased on a massive sale to chop shop the parts for both selling and for the Tantrum. We've had them for around two years and have finally outgrown them. When we got the Tantrum there was no LBS offering a different brand around the same price point with similar componants, every place said it had to be at least $1500 to get something "good". The Tantrum was good for what it needed to do at the time (which was just be a general purpose bike), it was comfortable, and affordable. The upgrade is to get something specifically designed for DJ, not because the Fluids have fallen apart.
It was nice to get something cheaper to understand WHY you want to spend money on certain things or if you even enjoy the riding, but without knowing that or having the experience it seemed a waste of money.
We knew a guy who worked for Anaconda and trusted his opinion, he said the Nitro was good for what it is and it's price. It has served it's purposed very well for 3.5 years, the only problems being pebcak style errors with brake pad contamination. It's an 07 and the newer models seem to have gone down in quality. I'm not very abusive on it, so never had any issues. For the time spent and types of trails i ride, it's not worth getting something "better". It'll never be less than what I need it to be/do.
The Chaos was purchased on a massive sale to chop shop the parts for both selling and for the Tantrum. We've had them for around two years and have finally outgrown them. When we got the Tantrum there was no LBS offering a different brand around the same price point with similar componants, every place said it had to be at least $1500 to get something "good". The Tantrum was good for what it needed to do at the time (which was just be a general purpose bike), it was comfortable, and affordable. The upgrade is to get something specifically designed for DJ, not because the Fluids have fallen apart.
It was nice to get something cheaper to understand WHY you want to spend money on certain things or if you even enjoy the riding, but without knowing that or having the experience it seemed a waste of money.
flamin'trek
Likes Bikes and Dirt
So the best bike is always the one you can afford that gets ridden very regularly. If they stay together and don't fall apart it's a good bike. Mtb'ers get more expensive bikes usually because they'll stand up to more punishment out on the trails, once youve experienced a good bike you'll understand why they are worth the money.
I started my journey on an entry level bike shop bike and once I was hooked went from there, over time stretching each purchase into a higher bracket. I've jumped on a couple of low end bikes and you can feel the difference, but not so much that I wouldn't ride a low end bike. If I didn't have a choice I would choose a low end bike over no be.
I started my journey on an entry level bike shop bike and once I was hooked went from there, over time stretching each purchase into a higher bracket. I've jumped on a couple of low end bikes and you can feel the difference, but not so much that I wouldn't ride a low end bike. If I didn't have a choice I would choose a low end bike over no be.
Last edited:
I had the bikes for a month or so... I know its not a long period of time to experience much but we do cycle around a lot. And I haven't had the first service done yet.
As you mentioned it could well be that the first service may fix all of these issues. However, it was not only the chain... In general you feel that the components aren't the best.. specially the break system, break pads etc,. (not sure the technical term for the components). The ride is basically the seat and the general feel.. I have ridden different MTB long ago and can remember the experience been better. However, the problems I mentioned are mainly with the Method model not the Momentum.
Anaconda website mention Method being a cruiser style MTB. So, yeap.. its not made to be a tough MTB.
hach_bee
Likes Bikes and Dirt
The components being 'not the best' as you say, are only going to be as good as you expect them to be for what you use it for! Like the site says, they're suitable for the cruiser style mtb, but definitely not performance.
Get that first service done and see how much it changes? And if she's not happy with the seat, check out the serfas range that anaconda stock and try negotiating a deal with you take the bikes in for a service their women's specific seat is pretty damn good! Best of luck with it all
Get that first service done and see how much it changes? And if she's not happy with the seat, check out the serfas range that anaconda stock and try negotiating a deal with you take the bikes in for a service
their women's specific seat is pretty damn good! Best of luck with it all
floody
Wheel size expert
At 30-50% off most Fluid bikes are about the same on-paper spec as bikes retailing for the same price as RRP (e.g. $600 Fluid reduced to $300 is about as good as any other $300 bike, ON PAPER). In practice they are horrid things to ride, even compared to other low end tat.
As for the free servicing...why bother. Will probably ride worse afterward. Our local Anaconda's "mechanic" was unable to bleed a Shimano hydraulic brake so replaced it with a mechanical, the same bike had a child seat fitted to the quick release skewer.
Harris Scarfe got in an awful lot of trouble for advertising similar 'retail prices' and purported discounts a couple of years ago, IMHO Anaconda should too because their stated RRPs are so far above market value (funnily enough, usually 30-50% above the typical RRP of something comparable) its inconceivable they would ever have sold a bike at that pricepoint.
As for the free servicing...why bother. Will probably ride worse afterward. Our local Anaconda's "mechanic" was unable to bleed a Shimano hydraulic brake so replaced it with a mechanical, the same bike had a child seat fitted to the quick release skewer.
Harris Scarfe got in an awful lot of trouble for advertising similar 'retail prices' and purported discounts a couple of years ago, IMHO Anaconda should too because their stated RRPs are so far above market value (funnily enough, usually 30-50% above the typical RRP of something comparable) its inconceivable they would ever have sold a bike at that pricepoint.